


With Love, Thea

by thefifthmaurader



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abuse, Betrayal, Character Death, F/F, F/M, M/M, Marauders Era (Harry Potter), Original Character(s), Slow Burn, The Marauder's Map, Torture, Work In Progress
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-29
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:21:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29052792
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thefifthmaurader/pseuds/thefifthmaurader
Summary: Theadora Edwards had a tough childhood growing up. Then, a strange man shows up and offers her a spot at a school for magic. She jumps on the opportunity, and ends up making friendships that could last a lifetime, and learning more about her mother, who died during childbirth. She finds love that she believed to be true, but soon came to find that not everything was a simple as it seemed. As dark forces threatened to tear her friends apart, Thea has to decide between right and wrong, truth and lies, and discover that not everyone is who they say they are.
Relationships: James Potter & Lily Evans Potter, James Potter/Original Female Character(s), Peter Pettigrew/Original Female Character(s), Sirius Black/Remus Lupin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	1. Scars

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [All the Young Dudes](https://archiveofourown.org/works/10057010) by [MsKingBean89](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MsKingBean89/pseuds/MsKingBean89). 



> Hi!! This is my first Ao3 fic and I am so so so excited to get started on this project. There are a few additional notes at the bottom that you can take a look at if you've got the time for it.

Theadora Edwards never knew much at all about her mother, save the things her father told her. That her mother was evil, a liar, and cursed. And that she died during childbirth because Thea was cursed, too. Her father Cassius had chastised her relentlessly, at least from what she could remember. Thea was different from other little girls, but she didn’t know why, and more so, she didn’t know why she was treated so poorly because of it. She was always told she was sick, but she knew she couldn’t control her changes. The way that her ash brown hair would change to a sickly white in fear. Or when she was angry, how her eyebrows and locks would glow a bright burning red. Over the years she had improved at hiding her emotions, but in the earlier days of her life, it wasn’t so easy.

After her mothers death, Mr. Edwards had taken Thea to many, many different doctors around Lancashire. None of them knew what was wrong with her, and most of the time, they were so terrified that they accused Mr. Cassius Edwards of witchcraft. Three had offered that they take her to an exorcist, but Thea didn’t think she had any demons lurking around her body. The summer after her fifth birthday, Mr. Edwards had taken Thea to a doctor called Mr. Morana. Mr. Morana owned a very small practice in a closed off street in Blackpool, quite close to where the two Edwards lived. 

Morana had told Cassius that indeed, Thea’s curse was the practice of witchcraft. He called her unnatural, and said that there were witches and wizards in this world, but that they too, would not accept Thea. They would not, as Mr. Morana explained, consider her to be pure. After all, Cassius didn’t know if his wife had been magical, but he knew for sure that he was not. Thea was a mutant. A mistake. Mr. Morana informed Cassius that he knew of a facility that would be willing to take in Thea. They were used to cases such as hers, and they would take care of her. Only slightly reluctant, Cassius agreed. He was tired of caring for her, and scared of her. He feared that as she grew older, she would become more dangerous. And, after little Thea’s eyes were out of sight in a back room, or so they thought, Morana pulled out a long dark wand, whispered an incantation, and wiped clear the memory of his daughter from Cassius’ mind. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

There was a banging at Thea’s door. She jumped awake, but dared not to say anything. Her face was burning from the night prior. It had been 6 years since her father had shipped her to the home for troubled children, but the pain never went away. She reached a gentle hand to her right cheek, and listened as the rapping continued outside of her room. It stung to the touch. The blood was hardened, but the skin around the marks was tender still. She knew that it would heal the way all of her scars did, never fading, never changing. A harsh reminder of who she was.

The beatings had begun the day she turned 7 years old. She had been playing in the yard with two of the other children. One boy, roughly three, and one girl, about the same age as Thea. The two girls had been lightly mocking the boy, teasing him as they galloped around the dead grass. Thea hadn’t meant to do what she had done next. She hadn’t meant to take on the features of the boy. But she did. In her fit of laughing and mocking, her face had turned into his. This was her first offence. 

The tools they used for her punishments were usually the same. They’d only started by whipping her legs. One time, The Handler brought in a “helper”, who had several different knives they would use to slice open parts of her back and arms. Twice, a man with the same peculiar wand that Mr. Morana had used against her father all those years ago. He’d point at her and whisper the word “Crucio”, leaving her writhing and screaming in pain on the floor. Last night was the first time that they had attacked her face. There were three clear, deep cuts there now. One stretched from the end of her left eyebrow, across her nose and right cheek, until it reached the end of her jawbone. The second, cut clear through her lips, vertically on the left side of her face. And the third, diagonally the opposite direction of the first, beginning just above her right eye and stopping before it intersected the first cut. 

“Theadora Edwards! Up with you!” The shrill voice of The Handler was at the door now. Thea stood quickly and rushed over, pulling a white cotton t-shirt on over her head. She forced her bright white hair to return to its natural brown state, tucking the short locks behind her ears. The metal door swung open, and she had to jump backwards to prevent it from smacking her in the face. 

The Handler was a plump woman, with a pale, ghastly complexion and eyes like tiny beads. She always walked around as if she had smelled something foul, and that expression only increased when she saw Thea. “You’ve a visitor.” she said simply, grabbing Thea by the arm and dragging her down the hallway at a pace Thea’s legs couldn’t keep up with. “But Handler, I-” 

“You will address me properly, child!” 

“Sorry, Madam. It’s just, who would want to visit me?” 

They turned the corner of the hallway headed to the east wing of the home, where the youngest children were kept. Thea had lived here until her 8th birthday, when she was moved to the west wing, and eventually, the north wing, where the most troublesome cases were kept. “Don’t know,” the Handler responded, “Some Professor. Don’t know who’d want to put you in school though, you’re hardly clever enough to learn anything.” 

This was only partly true, Thea liked reading. She just didn’t like reading things that had to do with schoolwork. Most of the children in the north wing had poor marks anyways, so Thea didn’t mind. She enjoyed fantasy novels though. Stories of knights in shining armor, and adventures across lands far and wide. Her most recent book had been Gulliver’s Travels, which she had stashed under her bed springs. It was from the south wing library, and she wasn’t allowed on that side of the building. One of the older boys, she believed he was about 16 or 17, had snatched it for her. 

They took a left hand turn to the main play area. There was an old man in a strange looking purple robe playing with a few of the younger children. A little girl laughed and pulled on his long white beard. “Professor Dumble,” the Handler said. The ancient looking man turned his head in their direction, peering at Thea inquisitively over half moon eyeglasses. “It’s Dumbledore, Miss Dabria. Thank you for bringing Theodora along with you. Would you mind if I took a walk with you, Theadora?”

“Thea,” Thea said, “Don’t like the ‘dora’ part much.” She expected him to snap at her for speaking out of turn, but instead he smiled with the same curious eyes. Thea hated it. He wasn’t predictable like the other adults. She wanted to push his buttons, to make him react the way the others did, but he wouldn’t. He just smiled. And looked. “Very well, Thea.” He said.

She looked up at The Handler, asking for permission to go with him, “Right then, that’s fine,” The Handler replied, “Don’t keep her very long if you can help it, Professor Dumbledore.” She added the last bit on as if it were venom on her tongue. The professor had called her Miss Dabria. Thea didn’t know that. She never knew that The Handler had a given name. Obviously, Thea assumed that she would, most everyone did, but it just seemed unusual to assign one to the Handler. She followed the odd man out of the large back doors to the lawn where Thea had gotten her first warning all those years ago. There were two benches and he put out his hand, gesturing to her to take a seat. She lowered herself slowly, eyeing him with caution.

“Why are you here?” she asked him, “Madam says it’s because you want me to go to some silly school, but I’m not smart enough for school.” 

The Professor took a seat next to her, brushing his hands off on his unusual clothing. “Hogwarts is not a regular school, Miss Edwards.” She tilted her head at him, legs bouncing out of habit, “Hogwarts?”

“Yes,” he replied, “Hogwarts is a school of magic. I am the headmaster there, and the reason I came here today, was to tell you that you have been accepted.” 

Thea furrowed her brows. She allowed the sentence to run through her mind a few times. The word accepted rang through her brain. “I’m terribly sorry Professor Du- What is your name again?”

“Professor Dumbledore”

“Right. Well, I’m very sorry Professor Dumbledore, it’s just that. Well, how could I possibly be accepted to a school which I never applied to?” 

Professor Dumbledore laughed lightly, apparently amused by her inquiry, “Hogwarts does not take applicants, Miss Edwards. Hogwarts accepts witches and wizards. You have some unusual traits Miss Edwards, don’t you. Things that others consider impossible, or witchcraft?” 

Thea nodded and instinctively reached up to her hair, which was beginning to turn white with fear at the roots. “Oh no dear,” Professor Dumbledore said, laughing again, “There’s no reason for fear. You, and these traits, are not dangerous. At Hogwarts, we will teach you how to control your power, and how to harness it for good.” 

Thea’s hair began to slowly fade back to an ashy brown. “My father was normal,” she said, “And my mother too. I don’t think this..” she let the word form on her mouth slowly, “magic belongs to me. I must have been cursed.”

The Professor nodded understandingly, “Not cursed dear. You’re what we call in the wizarding world, a metamorphmagus. Witches and wizards who have the rare and special ability to change appearance at will. And as for you parents,” he said, with a sigh, “Your father was non magical, muggles, we call them. Your mother however, was one of the brightest witches I have ever met. She too attended Hogwarts, like you will.” 

Thea’s head began spinning. My mother was magical? She thought. That can’t be true, father would have known. 

As if he were reading her mind, Dumbledore responded, “Your mother never told your father about her abilities, she was too worried about his reaction. You were born to them out of wedlock, and she believed that she could escape the marriage after your birth.”

Thea tilted her head again, narrowing her eyes at him, “How do you know so much about my mother?” she asked. 

“She wrote to me, and the other teachers. She requested our aid after your birth to help the two of you escape.” This statement made Thea’s blood boil. She thought of her father abandoning her. Of the years of abuse at the home. At the fearful, sleepless nights, and the mornings spent in agonizing pain. She was angry with him. Her hair had already fully turned and she didn’t care. A blazing red, she turned to face him and stood up.

“You didn’t help me,” she said, a single tear running down her face, burning at the contact it made with her still fresh cuts. “You left me here all these years and you knew. You knew where I was, you knew what they were doing to me. You could have helped me, and you left me.” Both of her fists were closed tight. She could feel a tingling sensation in her fingertips. She wanted something bad to happen to the man, who was still smiling at her. Why couldn’t he be normal? Why couldn't he get scared of her like the others? She was furious.

And, as though an invisible pressure were being released from the air around them, his left eyeglass broke with a pop. Terror washed over her, in place of anger. He slowly reached up to remove his glasses, and pulled out that same strange stick that she’d remembered. He pointed at the glasses in his hand and declared the word ‘Reparo’ very clearly. In an instant the glass that had broken was back in place again, and he pushed them back on to his nose carefully. 

“Your anger is understandable, Thea. However, after the death of your mother, there was nothing we could do. Muggle laws have left you in your fathers care, and he left you in the care of Saint Claire’s.” 

Saint Claire’s, so this place does have a name.

“Sir?” She asked, “Will I be able to learn how to do that?” She pointed at his wand as he tucked it away into his robes. 

“Yes, and much more,” He replied. He stood, and she followed his lead, as they headed back into the home. “I will be periodically sending supplies to you here, and you will depart for Hogwarts the first of September. That is, if you’ve decided that you want to go?”  
She nodded her head eagerly. Though she didn’t fully trust Dumbledore, she was dying to know more about her mother, and to get away from the abuse she faced at the home. “Lovely,” he said, as they entered the play room, “I’ll be off then, I have much to prepare.”  
The Handler grabbed her tightly by the wrist and gave a cruel smile to Dumbledore as they parted ways. “Wait!” Thea said suddenly, turning back towards him, her arm twisting under the strength of The Handler’s grip. 

“Professor, I was just wondering. What was my mothers name?”

He turned to face her, and raised his eyebrows with amusement. 

“Her name was Vera Abbott.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I wasn't able to find any records of the Abbott family or their names & relationships prior to Hannah Abbott and her parents from the Lightning Era. Because of this, I assumed Abbott would be a safe name of a known and recognizable wizarding family without chances of accidental incest between characters, I'm not trying to make Thea have a Luke and Leia moment agfudagfdjsh. Anyways, if you guys have any tips or things you want to say please please please comment and I hope you enjoy this journey with Thea!
> 
> come tumble with me @/ thefifthmaurader.tumblr.com (yes marauder is spelled wrong the correct spelling was taken)


	2. The Hogwarts Express and the Boy with the Scars

Wednesday, September 1, 1971

Professor Dumbledore certainly didn’t lie. There were piles and piles of belongings sent to Thea. Black robes, and books with titles like “A Beginners Guide to Transfiguration,” and “Magical Drafts and Potions.” Thea thought these were silly titles. And the names of the people who wrote them were even more ridiculous. She turned over a book called “A History of Magic,” and laughed when she saw the author's name Bathilda Bagshot written on the spine. 

Thea was busy shoving her belongings into a small suitcase that the Handler brought the night before when there was a knock at her door. She walked over and cautiously opened it, delighted to see that one of the younger girls, Thea believed her name was Penny, had brought her a small package. “Hiya Thea! The Handler asked me to bring this to you!” 

“Thank you,” Thea said, and she really was thankful. She took the package from Penny, who went skipping back towards the east wing. The package was small, and wrapped in brown paper, tied up with twine. There was a small white note on the top, and Thea jumped on to her bed excitedly reading.

Theadora Edwards,

It is our sincere hope that all of your belongings made it safely to Saint Claire’s. If you believe you are missing any supplies upon your arrival to Hogwarts, please let us know as soon as possible. Enclosed you will find a wand. Please be advised that most witches and wizards of your age purchase their own wands from Diagon Alley, so we cannot say with certainty how good of a fit this wand will be to you. It belonged to your mother, Vera. While I am well aware that there is wizarding money in Gringotts bank which you are the sole owner of, we are currently having some legal trouble in getting the funds passed down to you and proving that you are the daughter of Vera Abbott. One last tip, when you arrive at Platform 9&3/4s, please do not worry about asking train attendants how to get in. Simply run at the wall between platforms 9 and 10. Hoping you are well,

-Minerva McGonagall

Thea went the lines over a few more times to make sure she had read everything correctly. She had never heard of Gringotts bank before, and had no clue what Diagon Alley was, but she figured those would be questions for later. For now, she tore open the box containing the wand that belonged to her mother. She gripped it in her hand. It was light and comfortable to the touch, and Thea felt the same tingling in her fingers when she held it. This time, however, the tingling didn’t have anger behind it, but excitement. The wand was all black, and had one long loop of white that swirled around it from the base to the tip. It was beautiful, and Thea couldn’t wait to learn how to use it. She shoved it in the front pocket of her old blue jeans, it was small enough where only the end stuck out. She packed the box it came in and the note on top of the robes which she had just put into her suitcase. She glanced at the clock on her nightstand, which read 5:00 AM. Her train to Kings Cross left at 5:30, and then she would board a new train, at Platforms 9&3/4s. She grabbed her suitcase and began lugging it out the door, when she quickly remembered something she’d nearly forgotten. Thea dashed back to her bedroom and crawled underneath it, wrenching out Gulliver’s Travels from the springs. “Perfect.” she said to herself. She squeezed the book into the little space that was left in her small suitcase, and made her way to the front entrance of Saint Claire’s, where The Handler was waiting to accompany her to Kings Cross Station. 

\------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

The Handler hauled Thea’s suitcase onto a trolley as they made their way towards platforms 9 and 10. For the first time in her six years knowing The Handler, Thea thought she may actually look nervous. 

“Through the wall?” She’d asked Thea on their ride to Kings Cross Station. “Bloody mad these damn wizards are, I’ve said that all along. Bloody mad.” Thea smiled lightly when she said this, attempting to hide her smirk. There was something so rewarding about being able to make The Handler uncomfortable without receiving a beating.

As they approached the divide between the platforms, Thea felt an awful drop in her stomach. She drummed her fingers against the trolley in nervousness.

“Child!” The Handler hissed, and Thea turned her head to look at her. The Handler’s eyes were wide and angry, “Control that damn hair!” Thea had to concentrate more than normal, but she willed her hardest to stop her hair from turning, and she assumed that it worked because The Handler was pushing her towards the brick wall. “Quickly! Before anyone notices,” she said. 

“Um,” Thea turned to The Handler unsure how to part with her. She reached out an uneasy hand, which The Handler took and shook for only a matter of a second. “Do stay out of trouble Edwards.” 

“Always.” Thea responded. It was now or never. She faced the wall, took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and sprinted forward. There was nothing for a moment, and then a loud crash, followed by Thea and her suitcase toppling over. She opened her eyes, too shocked to bother standing up. The Hogwarts Express was in front of her, in all its glory, for what glory a train could have. The bustling noise of the crowd, and the sound of someone talking to her caught her attention, drawing her out of her trance. 

“Helloooo? Hey! Are you alright?” A boy about her age with curly dark hair and round glasses was staring down at her. 

“Um, yeah, sorry.” She said. The boy was leaning down to lift up her suitcase.

“Oh Godric, I nearly killed her!” 

“Hush up Peter, she said she’s fine. I’m James. James Potter. And you- woah. ” James held out a hand, his eyebrows raised and mouth agape. A very nervous looking Peter was picking up his belongings. “Sorry I just, you’re a metamorphmagus?” he asked. This caught Peter’s attention, who turned, staring at her. Well rather, her head.

Thea reached up defensively to her hair . She could see out of the corner of her eyes that it had turned a shade of pink in embarrassment. She shook the feeling down, nodding and reaching her hand out to accept James’. 

“Yeah. I am. Name’s Thea. Thea Edwards. So sorry about knocking into your trolley, er, Peter.” She gave him a reassuring smile, which he returned, blushing. 

It had been Peter’s cart that she rammed into. He was a small scrawny boy with dirty blonde hair. Thea noticed a redness on his left arm that she only assumed could be from scratching when he was nervous.

“We’d better get on the train and get a good carriage.” James said, and Peter nodded, following him. Thea fell into step with them. They approached four adults, who Thea could only assume were their respective parents.

“This is Thea!” James said, introducing her to them. Thea wasn’t great with adults. She said a nervous hello and avoided eye contact the best she could. After all, nearly every adult she’d encountered so far, save Dumbledore, had wanted to hurt her.

But James’ parents didn’t seem like regular adults. His mother had a warm smile, and bright pink cheeks, and his father had plenty of crinkles around his eyes as if he’d spent his whole life laughing. 

“Lovely to meet you dear, is it your first year attending Hogwarts?”

Thea nodded and gave her a polite smile. 

“James and Peter too. Oh, this is just so exciting, do you remember our first day to Hogwarts Fleamont?" She smiled warmly at her husband, "You knocked me right over when you ran through that ruddy wall.”

Thea stifled a laugh. That was essentially the same situation that she found herself in only moments ago.  
“I love small talk as much as the next person mum, but we reallyyyyyy need to get going. Okay? Love you!” He hugged his parents quickly and called for Peter, who was busy caught in an embrace from his mother.

“Yes mum! I’ll owl to you, I promise!” He whined, trying desperately to escape her grip. When he was finally free, he grabbed his case and followed closely behind Thea and James. 

James helped her to lift her suitcase into the train, and they started walking down the aisle, looking for an empty compartment.

"Excited Pete?" James asked.

“Yep!” Peter said delightfully, “Though, I still feel like I’m going to be sick when I think about the sorting.”

“What sorting?” Thea asked. As they made their way, the train started to move, and Thea regained her balance, following James with Pete behind her. 

“Oh Godric,” Peter said, sounding slightly annoyed. “You’re muggle-born. Can a muggle-born be a metamorphmagus?”

James stopped abruptly and turned around, “Yes Peter, they can, but we both know it doesn’t matter.” He gave Thea a smile and continued walking forward. 

“Splains why she can’t control it,” she heard Peter mutter, though he probably didn’t know she could hear him. 

“Actually,” Thea said, noting what James had said, “My mom was a witch. She died when I was born. My dad gave me up when I was five. I’ve lived in an orphanage ever since.”

“Oh.” Peter said, and then, “Guys, I really don’t feel too well, are you sure there’s no compartment near?” 

James stopped and peered into the next compartment. There was a boy seated with his trunk next to him, slumped down in his seat. “Is this one good?” he asked Pete, who nodded intensely.

“I need to sit down or I swear I’ll be sick.”

James knocked on the door, catching the boys attention, and slid it open. 

“Hiya!” He said, reaching out a hand. Peter squeezed past Thea and sat down abruptly, leaving his luggage next to hers in the doorway.

“First year?” James asked the boy, “Me too, I’m James, and this is Peter and Thea.” 

They shook hands, and the boy seemed to relax.

“Remus.” he said. Thea thought it was quite the unusual name. 

“Can we sit here?” James asked, although Peter had already sat down. “Everywhere else is full and Peter’s getting train sick.” 

Since she was a bit taller than all the boys, she offered to put their suitcases in the luggage racks. 

She took a seat next to Remus, who as it turned out, was just as clueless as she was. He was a half-blood too, and he didn’t know what house his dad was in. Thea didn’t know what house her mother was in either. 

She heard the door slide open again, and turned to make eye contact with two, piercing blue eyes. His cheekbones were drawn high, and he had long, black hair. 

“None of you are related to me, are you?” he asked.

“Don’t think so.” James said, “James Potter.” He held out his hand for the boy to shake.

Thea scooched to her right, and the boy sat between her and Remus. 

“Oh good, a Potter, dad told me not to talk to you.” he grinned at the statement, clearly pleased to disappoint his father. “Sirius Black.” 

The boys fell into a comfortable chatter, which Thea was happy to observe. Apparently, Sirius came from a very well known wizarding family. He had moved to sit on the floor, where he was drawing out an invisible family tree with his fingers. 

“No way!” Peter squealed, with slight disgust.

“Yes, really,” Sirius said, “My parents are second cousins.”

“Disgusting.” James said, but he was smiling, clearly having a go at Sirius. 

Thea’s gaze shifted to Remus, who had fallen quiet much like herself. She wasn’t sure why, but she felt an unusual pull towards him, the same way she felt when she used her magic. The tingle in her fingers, like tiny sparks. He absentmindedly rolled up his sleeve to relieve the heat that had entered the room. That’s when she saw his scars. 

He didn’t realise she was looking at first, but when they caught each other's eyes, he hastily pulled his sleeves down. He must not have wanted anyone to see them. 

She gave him a somber smile, pointing to her face, where her wounds were mostly healed but still visible, and pulled up the sleeve of her shirt as well, revealing the marks on her arm. His demeanor calmed again, and smiled at her. She smiled back. This silent exchange, Thea thought, might be the beginnings of a wonderful friendship. After all, Thea already shared so much in common with him. 

Perhaps people hurt him, too. Perhaps they were more alike than she had thought.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one, but I was way too excited to get it posted. Parts of the train ride at the end are direct quotes from "All the Young Dudes," by MsKIngBean89. Her story was a huge inspiration for this fic, and I'm essentially writing Thea into the story, with more emphasis on the life of Peter than the other marauders. If you're here from my tiktok, hiiiiiiii! And if you're here from my tumblr, hiiiiiii! 
> 
> If not, come tumble with me! @/ thefifthmaurader.tumblr.com
> 
> Thank you so much for reading <3


	3. Friends

Remus and Thea shared a mutual look of disbelief. The hall that they stood in now was incredibly captivating. Candles were hanging- no- floating, lighting the room around them. Thea made the observation of the four different “houses” at each table, the ones that Peter had told her about on the ride to Hogwarts.

“Hufflepuffs are the ones in yellow, they’re really really nice and they get to live next to the kitchens. I wouldn’t mind that,” he’d said. Thea turned her head to the Hufflepuff table. There was a girl at the front braiding her friend's hair who made eye contact with Thea and smiled brightly. Thea blushed, fighting the urge of feeling any emotion that might show through her hair. The girl was truly beautiful, with tightly curled hair and dark brown eyes. Thea didn’t think she would mind being put in this house, even though the boys all wanted to be in Gryffindor. The girl at least, seemed very kind, and very familiar. She felt her face getting hot again, and broke eye contact, distracting herself by drawing her attention to the students in the blue ties.

“Ravenclaw,” Peter had said, “Bloody smart they are, the whole lot of them.”

“Yeah,” Sirius had agreed, “I reckon I won’t get sorted there. My whole family are Slytherins.”

Right. Thea remembered, Slytherins. She shifted her focus to the far end of the hall, where the students in the green ties, the Slytherins, sat. Thea’s eyes were immediately drawn to a rude looking girl with the same high set facial features as Sirius. Her wild hair was drooping into her face as she scribbled into the book that sat on her table. Within a second, her eyes shot up, connecting with Thea’s own, and raising her eyebrows in a silent threat. Thea was about to look away, but she didn’t. Just tilted her head towards the girl, holding her ground and offering a combat of personal power. The mean looking girl lifted her chin in Thea’s direction, and went back to her scribbling. 

“Black, Sirius!” 

The woman who had led them into the Great Hall- Professor McGonagall- called Sirius to the front, where she stood holding a hat. As Sirius sat down, Thea thought he looked like he was about to be sick. She heard cheering from the Slytherin table, and saw that the voice came from the mean witch, and the girl sitting next to her. So they are related, she thought, returning her attention to the front of the hall. McGonagall set the hat onto Sirus’ head, and it promptly shouted out, 

“Gryffindor!”

Sirius stood slowly, shakily, and McGonagall gave him a sad smile. She didn’t think it was possible, but Sirius looked even more sick than he did before he was sorted. He walked toward the Gryffindor table, and the two girls from the Slytherin table were shooting daggers with their eyes at him all the while. Thea felt awful for him. 

A girl with long ginger hair was sorted into Gryffindor too, Lily Evans, and she skipped delightfully to the table and sat next to Sirius. While she was clapping for Lily and trying to catch Sirius’ attention, Thea again caught the eyes of the Hufflepuff girl. She had slid her black robe off, wearing only her white button down and yellow tie. The yellow color seemed more gold on her though, Thea thought, as she studied the girl, and the girl studied her back. It complimented the deep shading of her skin beautifully, and Thea couldn’t take her eyes away no matter how much she tried to keep her attention on the sorting. This girl was strikingly pretty, and far far too familiar. How do I know you? Thea thought, and the girl smiled at her as if she’d read her mind. 

“Thea!” 

A hand was pulling on her arm. It was James, “They just called your name!”

Thea’s attention apparently had faded for too long. She pushed past the students in front of her and approached the stool in an awkward silence. She sat down and looked out at the crowd where it felt like the eyes of hundreds of students were drilling holes through her. 

Within an instant the sight of the crowd was gone, and a darkness covered her eyes, her senses calming. A voice spoke, seemingly only to her. 

“Ah, Edwards? Not a wizarding last name, but do I sense a bit of Abbott blood in you?” 

Thea gulped. She nodded.

“Yes, just as I thought,” the voice, well rather, the hat said to her, “You’d do very well in your mother’s house, very well indeed. You two are very similar.”

Thea had no clue what house her mother was in. She didn’t know anything about her except her name. All was sure of was that she wanted to talk to Sirius, and she wanted to be sorted with her friends. Sirius knew wizard stuff, and he could help her get ahead.

“Yes, there it is. That ambition, though somewhat blind. Anything to get ahead of the others Edwards.”

Her last name sounded like a poison in the hat’s voice. She hated being connected to her father. Hated it. 

“Quite a deal of bravery in you too, and rebellion. I think there might be a better place for you. Right then, I know just where I’ll put you… GRYFFINDOR!”

Thea realised she had been holding her breath, and let the air out of her aching lungs with relief. She smiled and McGonagall, who shared a small closed mouth smile back to her. She rushed over to the Gryffindor table, where students were cheering for her, and sat across from Sirius. 

“You had me scared for a minute there, Edwards.” Sirius said as she sat down. He was trying to start conversation and keep his composure, but his red cheeks and fidgeting legs gave away his nervous energy. 

“Scare you?” she asked. 

The girl named Lily Evans turned her head, “You were up there for over 5 minutes! Do you know what other house the hat was considering?” she asked thoughtfully. 

Thea looked down at her feet, trying to remember what the hat had said to her, but she couldn’t remember it mentioning any particular house before it had announced where she would finally end up.

“No,” Thea said finally, “but it did say I would do well in the house my mother was in. Only, I’m not sure what house that is.” 

Remus was also sorted into Gryffindor, and the two of them shared concerned glances in response to Sirius’ nervous behavior. He was tapping his fingers on the table, but was still more composed then when he had first sat down. 

When Peter went to get sorted, Thea knew what the others were talking about. His sorting was taking a long time, too. “Is this normal then, the… what did you call it?” she asked Sirius. The hall was silent, so they spoke with gentle voices.

“Hatstall,” he whispered back, “And no, it’s actually quite rare. You and Pete are both in the same boat though, it seems.” A very nervous Peter sighed with relief when the hat finally shouted out, “GRYFFINDOR!” and the fourth member of Thea’s new friends joined them at the table.

James was placed in Gryffindor much more quickly than the others, and Thea caught herself smiling without realising. How lucky was she that she’d be spending time with the first friends she made? She let the word “friend” roll through her mind a bit, savoring the taste it made on her tongue as she whispered it to herself. She’d had a few friends at St. Clare’s, but they weren’t truly close. They had talked from convenience rather than connection.  
Thea’s thoughts were interrupted as their meal quite literally appeared in front of them. Her eyes widened as the most magnificent scents filled her senses. She breathed deeply and began piling her plate with potatoes. 

McGonagall approached the table and had a quick conversation with Remus, asking him to meet in her office after dinner had ended. Thea noted Remus’ black eye again, and wondered if he often got into fights. Though, her scars hadn’t been from fights, just from cruel adults. She brushed this feeling away. Remus was kind, and quiet. He was certainly not the fighting type. 

When the meal had ended, Prefect Frank Longbottom led everyone to the Gryffindor common room. Thea was walking with Peter at one side and James at the other, as they talked to her about some wizard game called quidditch. She tried her best to pay attention to both the topic at hand and the direction that Frank was leading them in. 

“You mean people actually fly on brooms?” she asked, “I thought that was a fairytale.” 

“What’s a fairytale?” Peter asked, tilting his head slightly. His face was almost judgmental in nature, but as their gaze met he fearfully relaxed his features. 

“It’s a sort of story, about fictional things, flying broomsticks and witches and such.” 

James laughed lightly, “Well, now you know those things aren’t fictional.”

Thea was still wrapping her head around the thought of magic. The fact that she was a witch, an actual real life witch. She had a magic wand, a magic mother, magical friends, and went to a school for magic. It was completely mental, and she reckoned that she was going mad. Though madness was certainly better than another year at St. Clare’s. 

They reached a portrait with the moving, and talking, image of a woman in pink. “Do try to remember the password, it changes biweekly,” Frank said, addressing the first years, and then turned to the portrait, “Widdershins.” he said. The woman smiled and nodded, and the portrait swung open. 

The first years began piling in, and Thea’s group was headed in last. 

“Hold on,” Sirius said, “Where’d Lupin go?” 

“Hmm?” Thea turned, and realised that only three of her male counterparts stood with them now. 

“He had to go to McGonagall’s office, we should go wait for him,” James said.   
Thea paused, unsure if she should follow them or not. After all once they were in the common room they’d need to go to their dorms, and she’d rather head up with the other girls. She turned back to face the portrait hole, where a smiling Lily Evans stood.

“Come on Theadora! This is going to be so fun.”

“I think I’m just going to go upstairs with Lily.” Thea said, addressing the boys. They all nodded, and James promised that they’d talk at breakfast the next morning. They parted ways, and Thea finally got a good look at the common room.

The Gryffindor common room was incredibly welcoming. She breathed in the scents, naming them off in her mind. The smoke from the fireplace, the slight trace of cinnamon, and the smell of books that were crammed into the bookcases on the side wall. Thea couldn’t wait to get her hands on those. 

“This way!” Lily said, grabbing her hand and dragging her away from the common area. They walked up a spiral staircase and through a large door. Four four poster beds with red bedding sat in the room. Thea recognized her belongings by the bed in the right corner of the room. She headed over to unpack, when she realised that one of her other roommates in the room too, and she had yet to introduce herself. 

“Hi! Theadora, right? I’m Marlene Mckinnon.” The girl named Marlene had an outstretched hand which Thea shook,

“It’s just Thea actually, I don’t care much for the dora part.” 

Marlene smiled at her.

“Alright then, just Thea.” she said. Marlene walked over to her trunk, which was directly across from Thea’s own, and began unpacking. 

“Where’d Mary go?” Lily asked.

“She’s just run to the loo,” Marlene said, pulling out her wand from her trunk and placing it gently on her bed.

Thea turned to her own things and dug through them until she found Gulliver’s Travels. She nearly crawled under the bed out of habit, but caught herself and instead set it neatly on the mattress. 

“Oooo! Is that Gulliver’s Travels?” 

Thea turned around to see their other roommate, Mary, excitedly smiling at the novel and at Thea. Thea grinned, “Yeah, it’s my favorite! I had to make sure I brought it from the- from home.” she finished, not wanting to go into too many details about her life at St. Clare’s.

“Oh, this is one of my absolute favorites,” Mary gushed, “I’m Mary MacDonald by the way,” she said.

“Thea Edwards.” 

“Isn’t just so incredible?” Mary asked, walking back to her bed and tossing herself on it, arms stretched wide, “We get here, we get sorted together, and we get to room with the coolest girls in Gryffindor.”

Marlene snorted, laughing deeply, which caused Lily and Thea to laugh as well. “Who called us the coolest girls in Gryffindor?” Marlene asked.

“Well no one needs to say it for it to be true,” Lily added. 

“That Potter boy certainly found you interesting Lily, I caught him staring a few times during the sorting.” Mary said with her eyebrows raised playfully.

“Ugh,” Lily groaned, “I really don’t want to think about boys right now.”

Marlene and Thea both nodded in agreement. Thea pulled herself onto her bed and started to open her book, but Mary had pulled out a bunch of wizarding candies and spread them in the center of the floor. One by one, the girls joined her, including Thea. They laughed into the night, trying every sweet that Mary had pulled from her things. 

They found out that Thea was a metamorphmagus when she’d tried a particularly disgusting ear wax flavoured “Bertie Botts Every Flavour Bean,” and her hair had turned a sickly yellowish green. 

“There’s a way to control your hair color, did you know?” Marlene asked.

“If there is, I haven’t figured it out yet,” Thea shrugged, “My emotions just kind of get the better of me sometimes.”

“I see,” Marlene frowned, “Well I know for a fact that you can show more than emotion with it!”

“Yeah!” Mary agreed, “You could probably make it house colors if you wanted to.”

“You should talk to McGonagall about it,” Lily suggested. “I think she’s the transfiguration professor. If anyone would know, it’s her.” 

Thea nodded, considering this, and the conversation eventually drifted away from her magical abilities and into thoughts about the start of classes and learning magic.

Eventually, they decided to head to bed. As Thea closed her eyes and sank down into her pillow, visions of the day she’d had raced through her mind. She made a silent wish that things would stay this way. Exciting, new, and filled with friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These chapters may start taking longer to upload as I am back at college, but I'm trying to get ahead on work so I can keep putting time into this project!
> 
> come tumble with me @/ thefifthmaurader on tumblr!  
> follow my tiktok @/ siriusblacksimp
> 
> lots of love <3


	4. Severus

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Thea gets the unlikely help of Severus Snape

“Theaaaaaaa,” a soft voice was drawing her out of her dream. “It’s time for breakfast.”

Mary had pushed open the canopy around Thea’s bed, allowing the soft morning light to spill in. Although her eyes were shocked by the change, Thea felt relaxed by the warmth. She hadn’t ever been one to wake early. The first morning had been the easiest, and all the girls were still full of the same energy they had from the previous day. It was Sunday now, and Lily and Mary had fallen into the routine of waking both Thea and Marlene, who would have gladly slept til noon. 

Reluctantly, she pulled the sheets back and swung her legs over the bed, rubbing the sleep away from her eyes. As she was changing into her robes, she overheard Mary and Lily chattering about classes, which were to start the next day. 

“I can’t wait for charms! I taught myself lumos the other night when I couldn’t sleep, found it in our textbook,” Mary was saying. Lily seemed to have an equal head start, but she was most looking forward to potions.

Thea hadn’t really thought about her ambitions for class yet. She still hadn’t spoken to McGonagall about controlling her transformations, and she made a mental note to get that done today. She also wanted to check out the library, excited to see what kind of books they would have about metamorphmagi. She decided that that would be her first stop after breakfast.

She sat with the boys again in the morning. Meals were about the only time she got to spend with them. Peter spent much of his time at the greenhouse, and James and Sirius always seemed as if they were on the move. Remus however was absent from the table at the moment.

“Where’s Remus at?” Thea asked, settling down on the bench next to James. 

“Said he wasn’t feeling well,” Sirius said, taking a large bite of toast, “Something about his stomach.”

“Oh, alright,” Thea said, “I was thinking about checking out the library today, if anyone wants to join?” 

“Sorry Thea, I can’t today, I’ve got a meeting with the captain of the Gryffindor quidditch team.” 

“But James,” Peter said, the first time he’d spoken all morning, “I thought first years couldn’t try out for the team?”  
“They can’t,” James explained, “I’m going to try to convince them to let me. They’ll probably say no, but at least they’ll remember me for next year.”

Thea couldn’t imagine making plans for a year from now. It was hard enough for her to plan out a day and stay on track. She decided that she’d go alone to the library. As much as she wanted to spend time with the boys, she didn’t fully understand quidditch yet. And as much as she valued her time with her roommates, she needed a break sometimes. She was very socially exhausted, and figured some time browsing books and researching herself would do her well. 

Marlene, Mary and Lily had gone to explore the grounds, and Thea polietely declined the invitation, referring to her map to search for the library. The librarian, Madam Pince, hadn’t been helpful whatsoever when Thea had asked for direction as to where to find the book she was searching for. So Thea took to walking the long aisles of shelves, scanning the titles, and drawing random ones that seemed interesting. 

She’d reached a section about magical creatures, and her eyes were drawn to “Dragon Species of Great Britain and Ireland.” Her eyes widened, she hadn’t thought that dragons were even real. Pushing herself onto the tops of her toes, she carefully picked the tome. She decided to take a break from her search and enjoy the book she’d found, and walked toward an empty table while examining the golden cover. 

Before she knew what was happening, she collided with another body, and the work slipped from her hands, landing with a large crash on the floor. Madam Pince hissed in her direction, telling her to quiet down, and she bent down to pick up her book, heat rising in her cheeks. 

“Watch where you’re going, gryffindor.” 

Thea’s eyes met with the person she’d collided with. A slytherin boy with long black hair and beady black eyes. His face was contorted as if he’d smelled something foul.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t see you there.” She said, nervously shuffling her feet and trying her hardest to control her emotion. She swallowed the feeling of embarrassment the best she could, but her best wasn’t good enough. His eyes were locked on the roots of her hair.

“Metamorphmagus?” He asked in a monotone voice.

“Um, yeah.” 

He squinted at her, “I’ve never met a mudblood metamorphmagus before.”

Thea let her shoulders relax a bit, but kept stern eye contact with him, not daring to look away and let down her guard. Though he was quite a bit taller than her, she was determined to make him feel small. 

“I’m half blood actually,” she said almost pridefully, despite not knowing a thing about the wizarding world, or her mother, “My mother went to Hogwarts.”

“Right,” the boy scoffed, “then she married a filthy muggle man.” 

Thea thought it best to not mention that her parents were never married. 

“What was her name?” he asked.

“Vera,” she told him, their gazes still locked into place, “Vera Abbott.” 

He raised his eyebrows, “A blood traitor then?”

“A what?” she asked him, getting defensive. She didn’t know what he meant by that, but it didn’t sound good. He rolled his eyes. 

“Abbott’s are a part of the Sacred 28, and your stupid mother sympathized with muggles. She betrayed her own blood. Salazar help me, I don’t even know why I’m telling you this. What’s your name anyways?” he asked. 

“Thea,” she told him. She didn’t bother giving her last name. Lately she’d begun to hate the sound of it, “and you are?”

“Severus Snape,” he said his name with such dignity that it was almost spit at her. He then swiftly turned around, clearly not wanting to continue the conversation any longer, “Next time watch where you’re going, Thea.”

“Hold on,” she said, and he turned around with a groan, “What could you possibly want, half blood?”

“Could you tell me what the Sacred 28 is?” 

Severus was visibly annoyed, his fists clenched at his sides. For a second, she thought he was going to pull out his wand and hex her. Instead, he angrily grabbed her wrist and pulled her down an aisle of books, whispering impatiently with himself how ridiculous what he was doing was. 

They stopped abruptly, and he ran one long finger along the spines until he landed on a large, red spine with the title “Pure-Blood Directory.”

“This book,” Severus said as he pulled the book down and set it on the table in front of them, “has a full list of every member of pureblood families. These are true wizarding families. They only have magical blood. Your mother,” he added, scanning through the index until he found the surname Abbott, “tainted the Abbott family when she married a muggle.” 

He pushed the book in front of Thea so she could see more clearly, pointing to her mothers name. The only issue was, her father’s name wasn’t written next to it, nor was Thea’s name in the book.

“Hold on, that’s not right,” Severus said, pulling the book in front of him, “If you’re Vera Abbott’s daughter, your name should be here. And your father,” he paused, a quick realization coming to him. 

“Oh,” he said, slightly amused now, “they never married. Ms. Vera Abbott was certainly ashamed of her muggle lover, wasn’t she?”

“Don’t you dare talk about her like that!” Thea hissed, pulling the book back down in front of her. 

Severus didn’t spit a retort back as she had been expecting him to, just watched her curiously as she tried to put the pieces of her family history together. Her mother had a brother, by the name of Henry Abbott. Severus was right, her father’s name was not written into the book, and nor was Thea’s. 

Her eyes were glued to the page. Henry Abbott had a son, Benjamin. 

“He goes here you know? Ben?” Severus said plainly, “He’s a third year. Hufflepuff.”

“And,” Thea said with a breath, “He’s my-”

“Your cousin. Yes, it appears so.”

Cousin. She had a cousin, and he went to Hogwarts. She became slightly aware of Severus’ presence still near her, but she realized that he had relaxed a bit more now, waiting for her reaction. In reality, she didn’t know what to say. 

“You should go to him.” Severus suddenly said.

“What?”

“Ben. You should go talk to him.” 

His voice sounded genuine, the only time that it showed anything other than distaste toward her.

“Yeah. Yeah, I will,” she looked up at his face again, “Why are you helping me?” she asked. 

The stone cold look of his features returned, along with the contortion of his nose, “Because you wouldn’t stop bothering me with all these sodding questions. Have you always been such an annoying little prick?”

Thea tried to stifle a small laugh. He’d tried so hard to be mean to her, but she didn’t think he truly hated her. It was almost as if he was saving face.

“As a matter of fact, I have been,” she said, “You made fun of me for being a half blood, so where’s the page for your family in this book?”

His face twitched with anger, and he swiftly grabbed the book, slamming it shut. He said something that wasn’t quite clear and turned to storm away.

“Don’t be afraid Severus, spit it out,” she egged him on. 

“I said,” he spat, spinning to face her, “My family isn’t in that damn book. I’m a half blood.” 

Thea’s laugh was really bubbling out of her now, and she didn’t even care. Was he really going to make fun of her when they were the same? He was a few strides ahead of her, and she ran to catch up to him, grabbing his arm and forcing him to face her.

“Thank you though, Severus. I appreciate your help.”

He spoke through gritted teeth, his response thick with anger,

“I didn’t help you, Abbott. Piss off.” He angrily pulled his arm back and gave her one last glare, before whipping his robes behind him and leaving the library, heavy footed. 

Thea, pleased with herself, made her way to a small wooden table. The surname Abbott rang in her ears. Certainly, when they found out about Thea’s blood status, they ought to take the Abbotts out of the directory, her mother had “ruined” the pureblood line. 

But she did quite like the name Abbott.

“Thea Abbott.” She whispered to herself, as she cracked open her book on dragons. She smiled. It did sound quite nice. 

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Remus made an appearance at dinner, but he didn’t sit with Thea and the other boys. He’d been unusually distant today, even for him. She desperately wanted to ask him what was wrong, but decided against it, instead shooting quick glances in his direction. When they caught eyes, she’d give him a smile, which he’d return, but she could tell it was more out of politeness than anything else. 

The quidditch captain wouldn’t let James try out, but they promised there’d be room next try out season for him to go after the position of chaser. Ever so positive, James hadn’t shut up about it for nearly 20 minutes. 

“It actually works out quite well in my favour,” he was saying excitedly, “I’ll be able to bring the broom I’m supposed to get for Christmas!” 

“Do any of you know Ben Abbott?” she asked suddenly, and they all stopped mid conversation. Peter cleared his throat.

“Uh yea, I do. He’s nice. My parents are friends with his parents.”

“As are mine,” James said. 

“Mine aren’t,” Sirius said with no emotion, taking a quick drink of water. Somehow, Thea had expected this. Any time Sirius spoke of his parents, or anyone in his family for that matter, it wasn’t exactly with pride. She’d discovered through conversation that the cruel looking slytherin girl from the sorting was Sirius’ cousin, Bellatrix. She’d also found out that Sirius came from one of the oldest pure blood families in the wizarding world, and that two more of his cousins, Andromeda and Narcissa, were in slytherin as well. 

“Why’d you want to know about him?” Peter asked. Thea pushed her food around on her plate, trying to act as natural as she could.

“I was doing some reading today in the library today. Well, someone was helping me. Regardless, I was reading a book about the Sacred 28 and, well it turns out that Ben and I are cousins.”

Peter choked on his food. “Cousins?” he asked, “I don’t know any Edwards related to the Abbott’s. It’s just Mr and Mrs. Abbott.” 

James shook his head in disagreement, “No, Peter. Mr Abbott had a sister. Mum told me she went missing. They were friends at Hogwarts.”

“What?” Thea asked, baffled. “My mother didn’t go missing, she died giving birth to me.” 

The boys were quiet again. It was Sirius who spoke.

“I’m real sorry about your mum.” 

“Thank you, Sirius.” 

Sirius nodded and pretended to be more interested in his food than the conversation. Peter was avoiding eye contact and nervously chewing, but she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder, that of James.

“We can help you talk to Ben if you want. Like Pete said, he’s a really nice guy, but it might come as a bit of a shock to him.”

Thea nodded in agreement, “It was a shock to me too.” 

“Who helped you?” Sirius asked.

“Hmm?”

“In the library, you said someone helped you research the sacred 28.”

“Oh,” Thea said, slightly nervous now. None of the boys liked any of the slytherins, and she was worried about their reaction. For now, it was best to act like she didn’t know Severus’ name.

“Some slytherin boy,” she said, deciding on her final answer, “can’t remember his name.”

James let out a deep laugh, and Peter followed suit.

“A slytherin helped you? Really?” 

Sirius laughed a bit too, nearly choking on his drink.

“He must have fancied you, Edwards,” Sirius said, “Can’t think of any other reason a slytherin would want to help any of us.”

The boys continued their laughter and their conversation drifted into jabs at slytherin students, Sirius’ cousins in particular.   
Thea focused on her meal, and as she took a drink of water, she allowed her eyes to find their way to the slytherin table. It was there that she made eye contact with Severus, who had the same dull look on his face from earlier. She raised her eyebrows at him with a slight smile, and while his expression didn’t full change, she could have sworn there was a hint of humor behind his eyes, if only for a moment.

She turned to check on Remus again, only to notice that he’d left. It was nearly dusk, and she realised that she still hadn’t seen McGonagall. She said a quick goodbye to the boys, grabbed her things, and headed towards McGonagall’s office. 

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thea knocked on the office door with a closed fist. She heard a few voices inside, just whispered chattering, but the door eventually opened, and McGonagall slipped outside instead of allowing her in.

“Good evening, Ms Edwards. Is there anything I can do for you?”

“Yes Professor, if you have a minute to talk, I have some questions about-”

“I’m afraid at this present time, I cannot,” McGonagall said, still standing almost defensively in front of the door. 

“You may come back tomorrow during your free period. May I ask what it is you wanted to speak about?”

Thea gulped nervously. No adult had ever treated her condition as anything less than illness, or a curse for that matter. 'This woman isn’t like other adults', she gently reminded herself, gaining up the smallest amount of courage.

“I want to talk about being a metamorphmagus. I’ve been struggling with my transformations, and I want to learn how to control them.” 

McGonagall nodded, “I would be delighted to help you, but it will have to wait until tomorrow. It’s nearly curfew, you should go to your dormitory, goodnight Ms. Edwards.”

“Goodnight profess-”

She was cut off by McGonagall shutting the door to her office. Thea had leaned slightly to the right to try and get a view of what it was her head of house was hiding. McGonagall probably thought she didn’t notice, but Thea caught just enough of a glimpse. Remus Lupin was there, along with someone else she didn’t recognize. 

Why would McGonagall be hiding Lupin?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just want to finish this off by saying that Snape is an awful human being, however I don't personally believe that children are fully evil, usually just misguided. In this chapter, we do see some more "regular" human reactions from Severus, but as the years go on you will see him succumb to the front he's putting on. Thea is lucky enough to not develop a full friendship with Severus in the same way that Lily already has, but I wanted to show some negative development of his character.
> 
> come tumble with me! @/ thefifthemarauder.tumblr.com
> 
> follow my tiktok @/ siriusblacksimp
> 
> thanks for reading <3


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